GTA 5 DLC: Parts of It Made Its Way to GTA Online, Online Being a “Cash Cow” Cause of Cancellation

While Grand Theft Auto 5 (GTA 5) isn’t a small game by any means, it seems we could have gotten a lot more if it outside of the main story mode if GTA Online didn’t explode in popularity. This was something former Rockstar dev Joseph Rubino revealed recently, as well as the reason why the GTA 5 DLC plans were scrapped.

Speaking in a video interview, Rubino, who worked as the Senior Camera Artist and Virtual Cinematographer for Rockstar from 2010 to 2016, mentioned that the reason why the planned GTA 5 DLC was scrapped was due to GTA Online being so successful that Rockstar had doubts the DLC would be able to compete with it. “When GTA Online came out, it was so much of a cash cow and people were loving it so much that it was hard to make an argument that a standalone DLC would out-compete that,” says Rubino.

The former Rockstar dev adds. “Looking back now I would say that you could probably do both, y’know, but that was a business decision that they made and I, y’now, was a little upset about that.”

Of course, not is lost, as Rubino also confirmed that parts of the DLC did make its way into GTA Online stating, “A lot of that stuff (GTA 5 DLC) though did up making it, I believe, into later iterations of GTA Online, I think, so it’s not like they wasted it.”

While we’ll never see the GTA 5 DLC released, we do know what it was about. Just a few months ago, Steven Ogg, the actor who played Treovr Philips in GTQA 5, confirmed that he shot “some stuff” for the game’s DLC that would have continued the character’s escapades, though one that sees the character working as an undercover agent for the FBI. You can check out more details of that in this Steamily video.

As for GTA Online, Rockstar has released significant free updates for the game, and some even included new story missions. Case in point: players got the Bottom Dollar Bounties patch just last month which saw new missions, vehicles and more.

As for the next game in the best-selling franchise, Grand Theft Auto 6 is headed for release in Fall 2025.

More Grand Theft Auto Reading:

• GTA 6 PC Version: Take-Two Boss Says Rockstar Will Make “More Announcements in Due Time,” Cites GTA as “#1 Entertainment Property of All-Time
• Take-Two CEO: “Highly Confident” on GTA 6 Fall 2025 Release Window, Rockstar Seeking “Perfection”
• Grand Theft Auto 6: Troy Baker Confirms He’s Not Involved With the Project

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